Nonverbal communication - communication using body movements, gestures, and facial expressions ather than speech.
  • Claire uses nonverbal communication with Mitchell when the entire family is in a chaotic state where everyone is shouting and talking at once. Claire lifts a napkin from the table and drops it to the floor. Without saying anything, this communication signaled to her brother, Mitchell, that they need to have a discussion under the table.
Master status - a status that has special importance for social identity, often shaping a person's entire life.
  • A master status for Phil would be his occupation as a realtor. It plays a very prevalent role in his life, and this is shown by producers in their efforts to incoorporate his job into several episodes. His job takes up a lot of his time, and it is how he provides for his family.
Status - a social position that a person holds.
  • There are several statuses in Modern Family among the characters. Gloria holds the status as wife. Phil holds the status as realtor. Jay holds the status as father. There are endless statuses.
Role - behavior expected of someone who holds a particular status.
  • All of the characters in Modern Family hold certain roles. Gloria holds the role as homemaker, which is under her wife status. Alex holds the role as learner, which is under her student status. Claire holds the role as role model, which is under her mother status. Again, the list is endless with all the roles that the characters act out.
Social interaction- The process by which people act and react in relation to others.
  • Mitchell and his father Jay act just as a father and son should, the only problem is that Jay acts somewhat akward around his son and his boyfreind, but if something is said about his son being gay, Jay changes his mood in relation to the other person. He then gets angry and stands up for his son.
Status set- All the statuses a person holds at a given time.
  • Claire is a mother, daughter, sister, wife, and a freind.in the show. She shows that it is possible and somewhat easy to hold all of these titles at the same time.
Achieved status- A social position a person takes on voluntarily that reflects personal ability and effort.
  • Mitchell has the achieved status of being a lawyer. He made this possible by going through a lot of schooling. This really reflects his willingess and effort to try hard in life.
Role Strain- Tension among the roles connected to a single status.
  • Phil experiences role strain when he takes on the role of being a father and a friend. He wants to be a hip dad hoping to make his children appreciate him more but this comes into conflict with his role as a father when he is asked to yell at one of his children for having her boyfriend sleepover. Instead of yelling at his daughter, he tells her that he won't tell her mother.

Phil's expected behavior as a father is to be supportive.  In this image he is supporting his daughter as she decides where to go to college.
Phil's expected behavior as a father is to be supportive. In this image he is supporting his daughter as she decides where to go to college.
Phil is not only a father, but also a friend.  He tends to do activities that would interest his children more than himself
Phil is not only a father, but also a friend. He tends to do activities that would interest his children more than himself